


Of The Hundred Things A Boy Could Do

by manicExpressive



Series: Your Affection [8]
Category: Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, College, F/F, F/M, Gen, Growing Up, M/M, Sexuality Crisis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-11 02:29:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8950384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/manicExpressive/pseuds/manicExpressive
Summary: Without the influence of scorned deities, Yosuke Hanamura's life is wholly uneventful. College is just the change he needs to finally get to live it up! Making friends, making plans--it's everything he hoped it would be. But he never expected to meet someone who would turn it all on its head. The real question is is he changed, or is he finally coming into himself for the first time?





	1. Prologue

Going college hadn’t originally been a goal of his. When he was a kid—says the eighteen year-old—he figured that school was just a necessary evil, the job of the child in the modern industrialized society. Maybe he was right in some ways. He certainly hadn’t put a lot of effort into it initially, just enough to get by, pass a test, and make it to the next step.

Such was the lackluster academic career of Yosuke Hanamura.

But as he somehow moved from compulsory education into high school, Yosuke had the time to reevaluate. The possibility of college was on the horizon. More tests sat before him, higher standards, the possibility of cram school—none of it seemed appealing, at least not initially. Reevaluation stopped dead in its tracks as he turned his attention back to the daily crisis of staying awake during lecture. He worked part-time at the department store that his father managed and he slipped through his first year without incident.

Thoughts of his future were fleeting. He spent most of his time concentrating on doing the minimal at school and the maximum at work, earning enough money to spend on electronics and the dream of being a rock star. (Really, he knew that it was an impossibility from the start, but working towards “something” felt like enough. Or maybe it was just an excuse to look cool with a guitar he could half-play.)

Life was busy, but simple. School, work, hanging out with peers, trying to impress a girl that he knew would never call back. There was comfort in the rhythm of things and Yosuke knew what to expect. He looked forward to each paycheck and his next big purchase. It wasn’t easy, but it was familiar.

And that was good enough, wasn’t it?

The future was far enough away, time after school. He figured he would just pick up more hours at the store and go from there. To be honest, thinking about it was more difficult than making plans.

During his second year, he met another boy named Yuuta Katsuragi who became as close as anyone could to being his friend. Yosuke had a fairly decent reputation, if somewhat superficial relationships with most of his peers. That was always how it went, though, and High School was a time to work hard and impress your age group. But more than jokes and the occasional packet of ramen, Yuuta planted a very important idea in Yosuke’s head: escape.

His life wasn’t bad, so what was there to escape from? Stagnation, he realized. He loved his mother, he loved his father, school was tolerable and he wasn’t necessarily hated, nor was he over-liked. It was all right.

But it wasn’t anything special.

The thought that he could make it special, more than the daydreams he never counted on in the first place was new. Escape didn’t mean dropping everything to start over, it didn’t mean fleeing the country or creating a new identity. Escape meant hard work because escape meant getting into college, or as Yuuta put, “your four year spring break”.

Yosuke felt like he could use a break in how unimpressed he was with his life.

So he did something he didn’t usually do with school—he applied himself. He took up cram school, much to the surprise of his parents, and he even stayed late and studied during lunches. It meant less time for his friends, but he found that they didn’t miss him as much as he might have liked. He said he was okay with it, he had something else to look forward to, after all. That was enough motivation.

Somehow, he managed to pass his achievement test. And somehow, he managed to pass one of the three university entrance exams he took. He didn’t need more than a minute to accept.

In the August of 2013, Yosuke Hanamura was going to Jisshi University. He would move out of his parent’s house, meet new people who were just as excited to get away as he was, and finally find the direction his life should be taking, if the compass of fate was willing.

He just had no idea how horribly unprepared he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is going to be a multi-chapter story focusing around Yosuke's coming into himself, his friends, and their larger place in the world. Growing up is hard and realizing you're not who you thought you were is even harder. I think this will be fun! At the moment it's unnamed, though I'm sure I'll come up with a title eventually. (I'm also open to suggestions!)
> 
> The University mentioned is completely fictional. Jisshi is a name I made up of a (potential) reading of the compound 実自, which the meanings separately are "truth/reality" and "self". (The True Self! I'm hilarious.)
> 
> Katsuragi is a reference from "The Magician" manga. I don't remember him ever being given a first name, so I just went with "Yuuta" from one of the Protagonists Social Links in game.


	2. Monday 10:29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> August 12th, 2013. Yosuke officially moves into his new place and meets his new roommate.

Picture this: one newly released eighteen year-old swaggering off of the train in southeastern Tokyo, turning heads with his keen sense of street style and a new shoulder bag that could only scream “university student”. His walk from the train station to the dormitory would be about twenty minutes, but the building itself was only ten minutes from campus—one of the reasons he was so lucky to snatch it last minute when a previous reservation dropped. His peers would be everywhere and Yosuke would be able to slide right in with the masses, all equally excited to start this new chapter to their lives.

He wanted to take the train because he thought that it would be the best way to start off on his first real adult adventure. Stepping out the front door of his parent’s house, a bag slung over his shoulder as he makes the trek on public transit to his first room as a college student, the lone hero setting out on his adventure.

Well, that didn’t happen.

Not even remotely close.

In fact, he didn’t even get to enjoy the freedom of public transportation. He rolled up to the dormitory in a very uncool silver sedan driven by his father. Yes, his father—you never impress anyone when your dad is driving you places. Both of his parents were glad to see Yosuke motivated to continue his education, naturally, but his mother in particular was already feeling the loss of her son at home.

So it was his mother that wanted to meet the older couple that ran the dormitory. Like most in the area, it wasn’t affiliated with any particular school, but hosted a conglomerate of students attending colleges and universities in the general area. The couple—Bunkichi and Mitsuko Kitamura—were actually very pleased to see a new tenants parents around to see their son off. In fact, they were invited on the grand tour.

Oh boy.

Yosuke kept his usual polite smile in place, but on the inside he was groaning. His father had the same impassive expression the whole time and his mother seemed pleased by everything from the downstairs traditional communal showering room to the small cafeteria. Most of the main floor wasn’t air conditioned, which made it stuffy in the midday August heat. Yosuke pulled at his collar as they followed the old couple up the stairs, Yosuke taking the back. He paused, hearing what sounded like talking in the downstairs laundry. He hadn’t seen any other students yet…kind of a bummer.

The dormitory itself only consisted of three floors. The main floor was for the shoe cubbies, front desk, laundry, vending machines, the communal bathing room, kitchen, and cafeteria. The old couple had a room there too, though Yosuke couldn’t figure out where they squeezed it in. The remaining two floors held the living quarters for the students—twenty shared bedrooms on each floor, with toilets and private showers available if you were willing to wait. Yosuke was pleased to find out that he had been assigned to a room at the very end of the hall on the second floor.

207.

His new home.

Mitsuko knocked kindly on the door as Bunkichi fumbled for a key. “Iori-chan, are you inside?”

“Ah-ha! Here it is,” Bunkichi said proudly, producing the copper key with a wide grin underneath his heavy mustache.

“Dear, we should wait to see if the boy is inside before barging in.” Mitsuko turned her matronly smile to the family, settling on Yosuke. “Your roommate is a kind boy, very friendly. I’m sure he will be happy to meet you.”

Yosuke raised his brows and offered her a thankful smile in return. The thought of having a roommate was somewhat foreign to him, what with being an only child, but there was a part of him that was excited for it. Sure, he would have to sacrifice on literal and personal space, but the opportunity to make a friend was one he wanted to jump on.

Assuming, you know, they would actually be friends.

The thought they wouldn’t get along definitely haunted him as well. Yosuke was a realistic, and realistically speaking, his friendships tended to be on the superficial si—

Wait, no. This was the year all that was changing.

On cue, the sound of muffled shuffling came through the door.

“Oh—yeah, one sec!”

Followed by a voice.

So his future roommate _was_ there. Yosuke’s grip on his knapsack tightened as he listened to the sound of a chair scraping across linoleum, some indiscriminate shuffling, and then the sound of a lock flipping. The door swung open.

“Hey! Oh—“ The boy who answered the door—“Iori-chan”, supposedly—looked at each of the five people waiting outside his door before offering a lopsided grin. “—Ah, if it’d known it was going to be a party I would’ve cleaned up more.”

Bunkichi motioned to Yosuke and his parents. “The whole family came to see the dormitory. Isn’t that nice? Quite the treat! This is your new roommate, Mister—…”

“Hanamura, Dear,” Mitsuko spoke with the sort of ease that indicated she was used to filling in her husband’s sentences.

“—Oh, yes! Mister Yosuke Hanamura. And Mr. and Mrs. Hanamura came to see their son off. Isn’t that nice?”

“You already said that, dear.”

“Hm, did I? Well, it is nice! These days we see more kids come in on their own than not. Weren’t you like that too, Iori-chan?”

Mitsuko took a step forward, taking the lead of the conversation.

“This is Junpei Iori. He’s a second year at the same university as you.”

At hearing that, Junpei grinned. “Seriously? That’s awesome! Nice to meet’cha, Hanamura.” He extended his hand.

Junpei Iori, a second year at Jisshi University. He stood about the same height as Yosuke, maybe a couple of centimeters taller, grey eyes and a goatee, with somewhat wild-looking black hair tucked underneath his backwards baseball hat. His smile was enthusiastic and friendly, as Mitsuko had described, and Yosuke had the impression that she might have a better understanding of the tenants in the building than her husband.

“Yeah, nice to meet you too,” Yosuke said, taking Junpei’s hand and giving it a decent shake along with a small bow of his head. Junpei returned the gesture before dropping his hand to tuck into the loop of his belt.

“Well, I guess that makes this key yours,” Bunkichi said, holding it out. Yosuke took the key— _his_ key to _hi_ _s_ new place—with a sense of pride. “Iori-chan, could you help Hanamura-kun get settled in?”

Junpei flashes another one of his, what Yosuke assumes, characteristic grins. “You can count on me.”

“Dinner is scheduled to start at 6 o’clock,” Mitsuko added with a calm smile. Clasping her hands together, she turned to Yosuke’s parents. “Of course, you’re welcome to join if you’ll be staying.”

Yosuke’s father gave a polite shake of his head as he put his hand on Yosuke’s shoulder. “Thank you for the offer, but we have to be off.” A final squeeze to his shoulder is as close to a hug as he was going to get. He placed the case he had been carrying for Yosuke down as he let go. The elder couple nodded understandingly as Bunkichi began to lead the way back down the hall.

“Well then, we’ll see you out. Working, I assume? There are some jobs with no off hours…” His voice quieted as they reached the stairs.

Yosuke’s mother waited with Mitsuko, just so she could give Yosuke a proper hug.

“Don’t forget to pick up your phone when you see our number,” she said, half-chidingly. Yosuke laughed a little awkwardly as she pulled back from the hug, a knowing look pulling at her brow. Mothers always know.

“Me? Ignore your calls? Never.”

She paused, before giving her son another hug. When she spoke again, it was quiet, private.

“We are proud of you, Yosuke.”

And like that, his mother and Mitsuko were making their way towards the stairs as well. Yosuke was floored for a moment, letting the simple sentence run through his mind a few times. Though he would tell himself making his parents proud had never entered the equation…that would be a lie. He allowed himself enough to admit it felt nice either way, at least.

“Well, why don’t you come in and make yourself at home?”

Junpei’s voice shook him back to reality and Yosuke made a small huffing sound. “Uh, yeah!” He was excited. Leaning down, he picked up the bag and case his parents had carried for him and gave Junpei a nod of thanks as he held the door open.

The dorm room itself was longer than it was wide, just enough room for the two of them to stand between all the furniture. Two tall built-ins sat on either side of the door, shelves and drawers as well as a pair of folding doors on each cabinet. Beyond that sat the beds, half of either peeking out from the built-ins. As Yosuke stepped further into the room, he saw that it widened after the entrance, affording them more room to stand comfortably. The bed on the left was already made, posters and photographs taped up to the walls—that was clearly Junpei’s side, so Yosuke put his bag down on the unmade mattress.

“Home sweet home,” Junpei said as he closed the door behind them. “I guess I don’t need to tell you that side’s yours, huh?”

Yosuke glanced over his shoulder. “I figured it out all on my own.”

“Oohh, a smart guy. Impressive for a first year,” Junpei said as he comically stroked his goatee. It made Yosuke smile, his shoulders relaxing.

“Smart enough to snag a room last minute,” Yosuke puffed up a little bit, proud of his sniping abilities.

Junpei had to agree. “Yeah, man! These rooms do go pretty fast. Mostly ‘cause they’re so cheap for the area. I’m pretty sure gramps wouldn’t raise the prices even if he knew he could get a lot more for them, though.”

Yosuke nodded thoughtfully as Junpei stepped further in, past the pair of beds. The old couple do seem nice, more like having your grandparents around than landlords.

Testing the waters, Yosuke decided to give the friendly banter another shot. “I hope you’re not calling me cheap.”

To that, Junpei almost scoffed. “Hey, I’ll let you know I’m a big fan of not paying more than I have to.”

Yosuke grinned.

“Which is what affords us such _luxurious_ fixings as these.” Junpei dramatically motions to the two plain desks tucked between the wall and the end of their beds. “You’ll notice that the chairs are appropriately squeaky—“ To prove his point, Junpei pulled out his own chair and wiggled it, the squeak of old screws quite clear. “—Just to let your neighbors listen to your every movement.”

Yosuke whistled. “They really went all out, huh?”

“Oh yeah.” Junpei pushed the chair back in. “But, you know, I’ll trade second-hand chairs for the food she cooks up here, anyway. I think curry’s on the menu tonight? But seriously, the fact that this place comes with a meal plan is one of the biggest bonuses. And it’s all made with _love._ ”

It could sound like a joke, but Yosuke was fairly certain that Junpei was serious about that.

“And you don’t pay extra?”

“Nope! All part of the package with added warmth from Mitsuko Kitamura’s heart. _Ahh._ ”

Okay, no, he was definitely serious, if a little sing-songy about it.

“Oh yeah, so we’ve got this too.” Turning around, Junpei pulled back the floor-to-ceiling curtains that covered the back wall. Two sliding doors gave way to a balcony, which he opened for Yosuke to come see for himself. “A scenic view of the building next door. But hey, balcony, right? We’ve just got the two lines for laundry, though, so if you don’t want to pay for the dryer downstairs, you got these to do too.”

A few of Junpei’s t-shirts and socks were already pinned up on them. Yosuke leaned out over the edge to scan the view, catching a glimpse of his mother and father getting back into their car.

“Gonna be your first time doing your own laundry, huh?”

Yosuke blinked, turning back around with his brows raised. “What? No—I mean, yeah, mom usually did it, but it’s not like I can’t read directions.”

Junpei just laughed. “Hey man, it’s cool. If you need help figuring out where to put the detergent, you know where to find me.”

Yosuke huffed, albeit good-naturedly. “They had to stick me with the funny guy, didn’t they?”

“Hey man,” he started, slapping a friendly hand on Yosuke’s shoulder. “I’ll be the Senpai you never asked for!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the dormitory is based off a dorm I lived in while studying abroad in Japan, mostly because that's my only real experience with Tokyo dorms (although mine was private). 
> 
> Because I've been somewhat obsessed with this Norwegian TV show called SKAM, recently, I decided to title the chapters here the same way the TV show does scenes/episode, with the day of the week and time of day. So this chapter takes place on Monday beginning at 10:29 AM.
> 
> There are going to be a lot of P3/P4 characters mixed into this, and who wouldn't want a Magician duo? I have plans for more, so stay tuned!


End file.
